Monday, November 27, 2017

We've been planning a renovation of our bathroom for years (since 2009!) and I finally have the finished project that I can share with you.

The original bathroom was falling to pieces. The vanity was broken, the walls and ceiling were peeling and the shower screen could not be opened without a struggle. Bathing the kids in this space was just not practical. I couldn't reach the shower and mixers without contorting my body into an unnatural position. The colour scheme was an uninteresting shade of beige and browns and I hated being in the space.

The New Bathroom Design
The new design needed to make use of the original plumbing as much as possible so as to save costs and all the walls and ceiling needed to come down.

I wanted to push my boundaries and use a black Victoria + Albert bath and basin in this tiny bathroom. Some might veer away from dark colours in a small space but combined with the white penny tiles and grout from Amber Tiles, and the light blue terrazzo stone floor from Fibonacci Stone they offset the darkness. And the matt gold taps from Sussex Taps shine brightly!

The Renovation
When my builder pulled down the walls
and ceiling he discovered that the bathroom had been renovated three times prior by previous owners. The old plumbing was still in place so we could see where the shower
was originally positioned and previously there wasn't a bathtub.

The new bathroom had to incorporate a shower above the bath as there
wasn't enough room to have a separate bath tub and shower. To
accommodate, the entire room was waterproofed to become a wet room with a
linear drain behind the bath where it can't be seen. The rain shower
head is one of my favourite features and I can't explain how relaxing
this space now is!

Heated towel rail

To bring in more light to this small space, we had installed large louvre windows from Stegbar and a Velux skylight. This small room is now one of the brightest in our home.

The vanity is actually a white lacquered bedside that was customised to fit the basin and it is offers plenty of storage for us. Additionally we added a niche into the wall for added storage.

Feel free to ask any questions regarding our new bathroom in the comments below and if you are looking at renovating your bathroom in the new year, feel free to get in touch to discuss your project.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Last year I shared with you the before photos of the classroom that I had the opportunity of designing.

To recap, this was a special project for me because it was the primary school that I attended as a child. I never could have dreamed that years later I would be back with a measuring tape and ready to take it into the 21st century.

The New Classroom
The students would use the classroom to learn how to program lego robots and so, I centered the design around a carpet 'runway' that would allow the kids a place to have a bit of fun and race their built robots.

The colours had to be fresh and bright to make what was a dull classroom into a vibrant place for the students to work in collaboratively.

Volunteers
It took an army of volunteers to prep, sand,
paint, buff, polish - whatever it took to make this room new again. I
can't thank our volunteers enough for their time and dedication!

Technology
Since the classroom space launched, the school has been fortunate to have now partnered with HP Australia and Code Camp to give the students access to the latest developments in technology, student learning and educational programming. They use iPads, lego robotics, a 3D printer and scanner and the latest in computer technology to bring learning to life.

Touch screen technology

Today - a year later - I visited the classroom once more. It was open to the public and it was amazing to see kids and adults interacting with the space and the technology, marveling at the coding that the students do at such a young age.

I couldn't be prouder to have been involved in such an exciting project.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Less than a year ago we found ourselves walking the shopping aisles searching for a new dishwasher. At the time I remember looking at the Fisher & Paykel range and staring longingly at their DishDrawer™ dishwashers.

I kicked myself for not investing in one at the time because not long afterwards the dishwasher we ended up purchasing started to play up. We had difficulty turning it on at times, the wash cycle didn’t always work and it just became unreliable. So unreliable, I preferred to just wash most items by hand. Ugh.

And now here I am today, stacking dishes like a pro – long stemmed glasses in their spot, small glasses on top, neatly stacked plates and I’m even using the cutlery basket properly - stacking each piece in the individual holes as opposed to chucking them all in the one compartment and finding they don’t clean properly.

I barely recognise myself anymore. This is a transformation.

Ergonomic

My favourite feature of the DishDrawer™ Dishwasher is the two drawers that slide out effortlessly and require less movement to load and unload – which is great if you have a small child on one hip as I often do!

Quality and Design

Dishwashers are a considered purchase for the homeowners I work with and the DishDrawer™ Dishwasher is a good choice for its sleek contemporary design that integrates well in many different styles of kitchens, including ours.

The stainless steel finish is easy to wipe clean and it comes with recessed handles for a clean, modern look. The control panel for both the top and bottom drawers is positioned in the top right corner and it doesn’t detract from the aesthetics of the dishwasher. The overall design will work well in many different styles of kitchens.

Flexibility

Each drawer is designed to wash independently which means that you can do smaller loads without feeling guilty, and you can for example, wash delicate items in one drawer and heavily soiled items like pots and pans in the other drawer. The flexibility comes in handy for us.

Quiet

I was surprised at how quiet the dishwasher was when it was operating. We usually switch ours on just after dinner and we head into the adjoining room to wind down before the bedtime routine starts. The last thing our family would want at this time is the sound of a dishwasher buzzing loudly away and the quietness of the DishDrawer™ Dishwasher is a blessing for us during these precious minutes.

Safety

I couldn’t work out how to switch on the child lock feature with our old dishwasher, but the DishDrawer™ Dishwasher makes it easy with the simultaneous push of two buttons, locking the drawers and disabling the buttons. My youngest loves to open cupboards and drawers lately so this feature is a really important one for us to have in our kitchen to keep little fingers safe.

ish & chi is a design blog by interior designer Vivian Panagos featuring tours, interviews with creatives, decorating and style ideas, and a portfolio of projects including the makeover of her Sydney home.